A Schoolgirl Crush
A/N: This was written for the 'Must I prompt you: Pairing Challenge' by DanielleDickens. It's the first time I've written a student/teacher romance, so I hope it's ok, even though it's not very romantic as it's just a crush.
Hermione sighed into her textbook. She was sitting in Defence Against the Dark Arts, listening to Professor Lupin's voice. Usually she listened attentively, studiously making notes. However, she found that during the past few weeks, all she could think about was how smooth Professor Lupin's voice sounded, how mature he was. He was nothing like their previous teachers, he really knew and had experienced the Dark Arts and was passionate about defence.
Ever since an incident in class a few weeks ago, Hermione hadn't been able to get Professor Lupin out of her mind. She couldn't help but notice the refined line of his jaw, how he always had stubble in the few days after the full moon, how he taught with everything he had. It was this that drove her to find out why he was ill so often. She didn't mind he was a werewolf, although she couldn't pretend she wasn't shocked when she first found out. She cast her mind back to the incident a few weeks ago when she first began to notice him.
It was the week after they had their first class tackling Boggarts, when Professor Lupin found another Boggart and thought it would be a good opportunity for those who hadn't faced it before to practice. The class followed him up many winding staircases, along a corridor Hermione knew contained Professor Lupin's office but had never been down before, into a classroom she suspected hadn't been used for years.
The desk rattled violently, causing a few people to jump in surprise, but Hermione had expected it, deducing it was just the boggart that Professor Lupin had warned them about. As they were instructed to form an orderly queue, she searched her mind for what she was most scared of, coming to the conclusion of failure. She'd always received almost perfect marks ever since primary school and she loved to learn and do her best. She would be so lost if it weren't for school and studying.
But how could she make failure less scary? She racked her brains but came up with nothing. She couldn't even imagine how a boggart could turn into failure, so she had no idea what she would come up against.
"Hermione, you're next," the Professors voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She shakily stepped forward, unsure what to expect. It was ironic, she thought, that by not knowing what the boggart was, she had to face what she was scared of before even approaching it.
"Hermione Granger!" McGonagall's harsh voice assaulted her ears. "You have failed every single OWL exam you took. We have never in the history of this school seen such an appalling result!"
"But…"Hermione said, rooted to the spot. She knew, in the back of her mind that it was just a boggart, but her fear overcame all logical thought.
"You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Hermione felt dizzy, and closed her eyes.
"Hermione?" A voice called out. It was professor Lupin.
"Yes, sir?" She asked, coming to her senses.
"Stay here for a minute," he instructed her.
She was sitting on the floor of the unused classroom. She watched as Seamus destroyed the boggart, with a lot more determination and bravery that she had shown. Professor Lupin then dismissed the class, before returning to her.
"Are you ok?" He asked her.
"I think so," she replied, suddenly aware of his presence beside here. She knew it wasn't true, but she didn't want to appear weaker than she has already shown. By not being able to face the boggart, she had failed.
"You didn't fail, Hermione," Professor Lupin said, as if he could read her thoughts.
"But…the boggart," Hermione stuttered.
"Let me ask you, did you know what it was going to be?"
"No, I wasn't sure how it would be able to show failure."
"There you go. You didn't know what it would be, yet you still faced it. You still tried your best. That's not failing, Hermione. Failing would be if you didn't try at all. I think you were very courageous," he said sincerely.
"You really think so?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. Now, you should probably run along to Lunch, or you'll miss it," Professor Lupin said, helping her to her feet.
Hermione left the room, with a spring in her step. Her hands tingled where he had helped her up. She smiled to herself all the way to the Great Hall.